


innocence, your history of silence

by laufire



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Asexual Character, Body Swap, Episode: s02e12 You Are Not Your Own, F/M, Implied/Referenced Torture, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 07:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11984925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laufire/pseuds/laufire
Summary: The story in which Azazel put Valentine in Raphael's body, instead of Magnus'.





	innocence, your history of silence

Isabelle took the last steps towards Magnus' loft's door, more worried than she'd like to admit. She could understand that Raphael hadn't wanted to answer to her text or her calls, but not that, apparently, he'd gone missing from the face of the earth, that he'd be impossible to locate even for his Clan. She'd witnessed firsthand Raphael's loyalty to his own, and she was incapable of picturing him leaving them hanging*.

And then there was what Jace had said, almost in passing: Raphael had been there, helping them, when Magnus summoned Azazel to find her. That seemed to be the last time he'd been seen. Isabelle suspected that the demon might had hurt him, and she felt uncomfortably guilty about it.

She checked that the door was opened, and walked in without knocking. Alec and Magnus were both there, and they seemed frustrated. Magnus was leafing through a book, while his magic took care of lazily tiding up the remains of some spell.

"We can't locate Azazel. We think something must be blocking us".

"Then try Raphael"- She looked at Magnus- "he's missing".

Magnus closed his book immediately, and without missing a beat, started a new spell.

"Why were you looking for Raphael" Alec asked, with a suspicious stare. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Simon asked for my help. It's nothing you have to worry about."

"Uh. That _is_ weird."

"What? What's wrong?" She asked, worried.

"He's not really protected but... it's like I can't reduce his location to just one point."

Alec made a grimace at that. She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, silently asking him to elaborate.

"I thought it was nothing," he stressed, "that it was... one of Valentine's tricks or something like that. That's why I didn't say anything."

" _What_ didn't you say?" Isabelle raised her voice, getting more and more nervous.

"I was in Valentine's cell before and... well, he claimed he wasn't Valentine, that he was Raphael and the demon must had switched their bodies. Is that even possible?"

"For a Great Demon such as Azazel? Of course it is." Magnus said, and before Isabelle could say anything else, he was already creating a Portal.

* * *

When they burst into the cell, Valentine's body was tied up to a chair and gagged, and Herondale was whispering something threatening to him. Standing way too close.

"What's going on here?" The Inquisitor asked, caught right between righteous indignation and astonishment.

"We think there's been a mistake" Alec rushed, while Magnus, without looking at her twice, came close to the prisoner. "The vampires' Clan leader is missing, so now we believe it's possible that he might be..."

"That's absurd" Herondale said, seeming to know exactly what he was getting at.

"Magnus." Valentine's voice sounded coarse, broken and vulnerable. That was the moment that Isabelle, that had stayed frozen in the entryway, noticed the rune that adorned his wrist, and felt nauseas that could compete with the ones she'd been suffering the last few days during withdrawal. " _Soy yo, te juro que soy yo. Mi madre te contrató para buscarme, pero llegaste demasiado tarde. Ya me habían convertido, pero aun así me ayudaste, nunca te rendiste conmigo. Por favor, no lo hagas ahora. Soy yo. Soy yo._ "

He said that in quick Spanish, and Isabelle herself hadn't been able to follow everything down. But if she'd harbored any doubt yet, it would've disappeared in that instant.

" _Tranquilo, tranquilo. Te creemos._ " Magnus magic seemed to be healing some of the wounds on Raphael's face on its own accord, as he caressed it.

" _Por favor._ *" He raised his eyes to them, stopping in Isabelle. She swallowed, and nodded, wordlessly promising him to do anything she could to help him.

"Let's take this outside." Herondale ordered that, with her mouth pressed in a straight line that didn't invite any objections. 

* * *

"Are you aware of what you just caused?"

They were all gathered outside the cell, and Clary, Jace and Sebastian, probably attracted by the commotion they had caused coming running through the Portal, had approached them. The Inquisitor didn't seem to notice. If she had, Isabelle didn't have any doubt she'd kicked them out without much fuss.

"Oh, believe me, I'm _well aware_ of what I just did." Magnus was examining his nails, as if nothing else in the room could hold his interest.

"You gave him ammunition. You let him know you buy into his ridiculous charade, and now he has you eating out of his hand."

"It's not a charade. He's told me thinks that only Raphael and I know, and that Valentine has no possible way to figure out. Ergo, he's not Valentine. He's Raphael Santiago, leader of the vampires of this city. And you just tortured him illegally, I must add. I don't think that'll contribute to mend your relationship with Downworlders.

"Wait, wait," Jace asked, "can anyone here bother to explain what the hell it's going on?"

Herondale looked at him, with a clearly disgusted grimace on her face.

"We believe Azazel could have put Valentine and Raphael in each other's body, " Alec answered, "probably so he could get out of Valentine the location of the Mortal Cup."

"So Valentine is going around with a vampire body? With vampire weaknesses and appetites?" Sebastian smirked. "With what little I know of the man, it must be killing  
him."

Isabelle could see why he found that funny, though she noticed she was pretty much the only one. However, what was important was the conclusion his comment inevitably led to.

"He's right. Valentine would try to get his body back by any means necessary before giving anything to Azazel," she said, "so we must be alert. I'll do the first round."

"We haven't confirmed any of this is true." Herondale complained. "We must proceed with the interrogation of the prisoner to dissipate any doubts."

"Don't you think for one moment," Isabelle said, moving closer to her, until their eyes were less than a handspan away, "that I don't know what you were doing in that cell. And I doubt that you had permission for it. So if I even see you in the same floor than Raphael, I won't hesitate a second to report you to the Clave."

She turned around without wanting to see the outcome of her words, with her heart beating fast with fury and trepidation. She had just threatened the Inquisitor, a woman than mere months before almost sentenced her and ruined her life. The truth was, she thought, that she felt a little proud of herself in that moment.

"What the hell were you just thinking?"

Alec, of course, had follower her. He'd had a heart attack if he couldn't have denied her this tiny high too.

"Do you have any idea of what you just did? Threatening the Inquisitor? Are you _completely insane_? How could you do that?"

"How could you not to! How could you just stand there and do _nothing_ while Herondale was torturing him? Knowing what he means to me?"

"What he means...? Izzy, he was your _dealer_." He threw back at her, making sure to lower his voice as much as possible.

"He's much more than that, and you know it. They gave him the Agony Rune, Alec. What were you doing then? Did you stood there doing nothing? Or did you lend a hand?"

"Izzy..."

"No, Alec. What if it had been Magnus? You should have told me. Or at least told Magnus. Or you should have tried to stop her. _Something_."

"Maybe you're right," Alec said, not particularly contrite, "but in that moment I did what I thought was best with the information I had."

"Whatever you say."

Isabelle planted herself in front of Raphael's cell, looking ahead standing straight, sending the clear message that the conversation, as far as she was concerned, was over.

* * *

The minutes went by, and Isabelle was still debating over whether she should stay where she was or get inside the cell and keep watch there. Tactically, being outside made much more sense. You could still control the inside and you saw any threat coming. But it was hard to think tactically when she saw Raphael, still a prisoner, ignorant of what would come to him, his lips moving in a silent prayer.

She wanted to go in and talk with him, but she didn't know what she could possibly say, giving how she behaved in their last conversation.

The elevator's doors opened, and Isabelle only relaxed when she saw that it was just Sebastian.

They greeted each other with a smile, and Sebastian stood next to her. One could easily count the hours since they met, but she already found his presence comforting. They were, she laughed to herself, kindred souls. Should she invite him to go with her to one of those meetings Simon told her about? It'd be easier to go if Sebastian was there with her.

"Can I ask you something untoward? From addict to addict." 

"Go ahead."

"Is Raphael the vampire that...?"

"I was an addict before I went to him," she said, feeling the need to clear that up, "but yes. It's bigger than that, though."

"You don't have to tell me that." He raised his hands in deference. "I wouldn't have been all in the Inquisitor's face for a simple dose."

"That's how it started, for both of us. But we connected and... we liked what we saw in the other. He's important to me."

"I get it. Things like that happen sometimes. The addiction gives it a push, but it doesn't create it out of thin air. But," he said, seeming concerned, "the fact is, you can't really separate them. So if you want to get better, it might be for the best to keep your distance."

"His life is in danger."

"Yes, that complicates it." He walked from the wall, clearly about to leave, and looked straight into her eyes. "What I really came here to say is that, whatever it is you decide to do with this situation, I'm here. I'll do anything you need."

"Thanks." She beamed at him.

He returned the smile, and just as he was walking back to the elevator, it opened again, showing Jace and Clary.

The three of them crossed paths before Jace and Clary came to talk to her.

"So," Jace said, raising his eyebrows, "you and Santiago, eh? What was _that_ about?"

"Yeah, why is that I don't know anything about it?"

Despite their light tones, she could see they were waiting for an explanation. She might have given it to Jace. But she wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of Clary knowing about the yin fen, for some reason.

"It's very new." She decided to leave it at that. "I'll tell you about it when we have the time."

"Well, I hope it's worth it," Jace said, crossing his arms and leaning casually by her side, "because Herondale is pissed."

Isabelle looked at Raphael then. He had stopped praying and was now staring at the ceiling. She liked to believe that, even if she hadn't known anything beforehand, she'd been able to recognize him in Valentine's features. His gesture was too soft, his eyes too sincere. The way he had clung to Magnus; the look in his eyes when he saw her...

"Okay, I think your faced answered for you." Jace teased.

"Yes, please, stop looking at my father like that."

She smiled faintly in response. In that moment her phone ringed, and she saw a text.

_From Alec:_

__

__

_The Inquisitor wants a meeting to decide what do about this._

Jace, who had been reading over her shoulder, said:

"Go, we'll stay here. It'll be fine."

* * *

Alec, Magnus and the Inquisitor were reunited around the table. Isabelle took the place left, standing opposite to Magnus, who had his arms crossed as he stared intently at the table.

"I've taken into account the possibility that the... body switch may be true." Isabelle bit back a smile at that. "Miss Lightwood will lead a team that will take care of  
investigating possible vampire attacks. If Valentine is indeed in the body of one of them, it's very likely that he wasn't able to rein in their lowest instincts."  
Isabelle, for some reason, doubted that. Maybe it was all those stories you heard, whispered furtively, about Valentine. There was fear and censure in them, but you could also find some amount of... not admiration, per se, but something like _courtesy_ , when people talked about his accomplishments. The respect owed to a worthy warrior. She couldn't reconcile that image with a novice vampire incapable of controlling himself.

And she didn't want to, either. If he had gone around the city using Raphael's body to hurt or even murder innocent people... she didn't know how he would take it.

"If Azazel is so intent on finding the Cup, he won't let something like that keep Valentine from giving it to him."

She hoped Magnus was right about that, then.

"You and mister Lightwood are tasked with locating the demon, by any means necessary. We must stop him before he gets his hands on the Cup. Those are the only courses of actions we can follow right now. This are the orders."

Those weren't the only ones, Isabelle thought, and they left a lot to be desired. But they were the only ones Herondale was willing to approve, and certainly the one that just occurred to her wouldn't make the cut.

So she just tried to get Magnus attention before saying:

"I'll reunite my team and we'll get to it."

* * *

_To Raphael:_

__

__

_I know who you are. If you want your body back, you just have to name the place._

* * *

Alec, needlessly to say, didn't like her plan. But she guessed he wanted to make it up to her enough to help her with it, or that he at least could understand she wasn't going to be stopped, so he should stick to cover her six. 

Despite that, when he saw Sebastian, he had to say _something_.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

She rolled her eyes with as much flair as she could manage. "Helping me." 

The plan was quite simple. At the end of the day, Magnus was the one who took care of most of the building's security. He could get around it with relative ease. They only had to get Raphael out of the inferior levels and take him to Magnus.

Piece of cake.

Alec's stele could open the cell. Isabelle had proposed to "steal" it from him (plausible deniability, and all that), but Alec had insisted on being a more active participant. He didn't want them to face Azazel without him. 

When both of them, along with Sebastian, went down in the elevator, Jace and Clary were still there. So was Duncan, who Herondale had probably sent to watch them. When they saw them coming, Jace didn't lose any time before knocking him out.

"Don't you get the feeling we've been through this before?" he asked, while Alec opened the cell.

Raphael seemed surprised when they entered, but he calmed down when he laid eyes on Isabelle. She untied him, smiling, and he held her hand as he stood up.

"Come on, we don't have much time." Alec grabbed him and pushed him out of the room. The group went to the elevator, headed for the exit.

When they arrived Magnus was keeping a protective barrier around them, while two soldiers leaded by Herondale faced him.

"Get ready. When I open the Portal my defenses will drop. Jump in, I'll follow later."

"Clary, Alec, make sure Raphael gets there. You keep it open and we'll help you take them down. We need you there."

"Stop this immediately!"

"... one, two, three!"

She could hear how they left through the Portal. The other Shadowhunters charged against them; Sebastian and Jace took care of their own, and Herondale approached her.

"Miss Lightwood, what you're doing has no..." 

She never got to know how that phrase would end, since she took advantage that Herondale wasn't attacking her directly to knock her out with her staff.

As soon as they got to the other side, Jace told Alec:

"Your sister just knocked out the Inquisitor." With illustrative gestures and everything.

Alec let out a frustrated sigh that threatened to become interminable. Raphael, next to him, snorted quietly.

"Are you alright?" She reached for his arms, looking him up and down to assess his wounds.

"I'm much better now." It probably wasn't his intent, but he sounded so corny that she couldn't stop herself from beaming at him.

"We don't have time for this." Alec grabbed Raphael again, separating them.

"It's probably for the better if you postpone the sweet nothings until the hostage exchange it's over."

* * *

The exchange was in a small park, completely empty at that hour, plagued with leafy trees. Azazel and Valentine were waiting by the time Isabelle, Magnus and  
Raphael arrived, both dressed with suits that almost seemed to match. If anything, she mused, Raphael's looked even more expensive. She'd tease him later, about how he managed to outdress a Prince of Hell.

And by the Angel, if she thought it was easy to recognize Raphael in Valentine's body, the opposite was even simpler. The way his face rested had something unnatural to it, if you'd known Raphael long enough. There was unease and discomfort in the way Valentine carried the body. He probably could smell their blood from his position, and it had him on edge. And even if Isabelle had once considered Raphael a cold person, he clearly could never compare to Valentine. 

"Do you really think they came alone?" Valentine asked Azazel, without looking away from them. Raphael's voice sounded artificial on him.

"Magnus would know how to hide it from me."

Valentine shrugged, nonchalant, and brusquely opened his shirt. Plastic bags full with transparent liquid surrounded his chest, and you didn't need to be a genius to guess what they were.

"Holy water."

Isabelle had taken into account that they might try something like that, but that didn't make it any easier. She nodded, unable to say a single word. Valentine looked at her, curious, and with an empty smile said:

"You look a lot like your mother. Remember to give Maryse my regards, if you manage to get out of this alive. You," he said to Raphael, "should probably take a look  
at your phone. I wonder who that sweet old lady could be."

Her heart skipped a beat. She hadn't thought that, by sending that picture, she had exposed the family Raphael had tried so hard to keep safe, presenting her to Valentine on a silver platter.

"Can we get this over with?" Magnus intervened, impatient. 

"Want to do the honors?" 

Magnus glared at Azazel, who seemed to find the situation extremely amusing. He raised his hands, summoning his magic. Raphael and Valentine started levitating,  
and just before the switch was completed, Magnus gave Isabelle the signal to activate the Agony Rune.

It had been Raphael's idea, and though she hated it with every fiber of her being, she ended up agreeing to it. You could never be too cautious with Valentine.

They were back on their respective bodies, and Valentine let out a piercing scream. Magnus did something that stopped the holy water explosion mid-air. Azazel was about to attack him, but had to stop to catch an arrow that was going straight to his head.

Isabelle was vaguely, instinctively aware of the fight that went down around her -Magnus opening a Portal that disappeared as soon as Jace got Valentine through it, Alec and the others fighting in vain against Azazel- as she approached Raphael, who still looked disoriented. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her trembling hands, and set to remove the explosive belt. She didn't know what Magnus had done; the water was paralyzed, like someone had hit pause on a small parcel of the universe. She managed to pull it off without any explosion, and threw it away as far as she could.

She meet Raphael halfway as he put his arm around her shoulders, helping him up while he searched for his phone in his pockets. Isabelle looked away, not wanting to see his reaction, and saw that Clary had stopped Azazel's attack with one of her runes. He still managed to ran away before they could take him out. Magnus was coming to them, with a worried look on his face.

"You aren't hurt, right?"

"No, I'm fine," he answered, putting his phone back, "but I'd like to go back home and just rest."

"I'll make you a Portal."

"Can I come with you?" Her voice sounded pitiful and hesitant when she said it.

Raphael paused, looking into her eyes for a few seconds. "Of course."

"Izzy..."

Alec had come up to them too. He had a cut on his face that he must have gotten during the fight.

"I don't want to deal with the Inquisitor right now." She wasn't planning on arguing about it.

"We got the real Valentine back and Azazel doesn't have the Cup," Sebastian intervined, "that has to count for something."

"And if she's cross because you disobeyed her and wants to punish you for it we'll just repeat your threats." Magnus said that as he opened yet another Portal. He  
must have been exhausted.

Raphael approached Alec, telling him something she didn't get to hear. When he came back to her, her brother still looked concerned, but he nodded, understanding.

* * *

The Portal took them to the same room where not long ago she and Raphael had spent hours getting high on each other, and it felt like a punch in the stomach. She had to close her eyes and breathe deeply for a couple seconds to take that image out of her head.

Raphael sat on the sofa, texting. Probably to one of his vampires, to tell them where he was and ask them to protect Rosa.

"I'm so sorry about your sister. I had no idea that..."

He cut her off. "I don't want to talk about that now." He put his phone aside and raid his arm, interlacing their fingers. "Come here."

She let herself be guided to him, ending up sitting sideways on his lap with his arms around her. She softly kissed his temple, clutching to his jacket, and let her head fall into his shoulder.

"I'm also sorry for everything you've had to go through today."

He pushed her gently, so that they were face to face.

"You made it bearable."

The way he looked at her made her heart flutter; his solid hand on her leg spread a tranquil warm through her body, making her kiss him again, on his cheek. She  
stayed there, her forehead against his, her eyes closed.

"I'm going to sleep," he whispered, "do you want to stay?"

She nodded, without moving an inch from him. They stayed still for a few moments longer, until she stood up and waited for him to lead her to the room.

Once there, she took off her jacket and her boots. After a second of doubt, she did the same with her pants; they were way too tight to sleep on them, and she never wore unflattering underwear anyway. Besides, Raphael wouldn't pay much attention to that.

She got that wrong, because when he turned around Raphael gave her a warm, appreciative look, if not the type she was used to. He had undressed too, and she returned his smile. The truth is, she was too exhausted to feel any possible desire either.

Raphael opened the bed, which sheets felt as heavenly soft as they looked. They met in the middle, where Raphael embraced her and she let her head rest against his silent bare chest. He kissed her hair and started rubbing circles in her back, and Isabelle fell asleep much sooner than she had expected.

**Author's Note:**

> 1-The idiom for that in Spanish is "dejarlos en la estacada", as in stake. I just needed you to know that, even thought I knew I would publish the story in English, I couldn't help myself.
> 
> 2-"It's me, I swear it's me. My mother hired you to find me, but you were too late. I had already been turned, but you still helped me, you never gave up on me. Please, don't do it now. It's me. It's me."  
> "It's okay, it's okay. We believe you."  
> "Please."  
> It's a rough translation -more about what sounds natural than word for word, basically.
> 
> Come find me on [tumblr](https://laufire.tumblr.com).


End file.
